Once Upon a Time
by daisychains123
Summary: This is the story of an ordinary man who could have anything his heart desired, who lost everything he had once held dear, gained something he did not understand, and regretted absolutely nothing. This is the story of Benjamin Barker. AU and possibly OOC
1. Having Anything

**This is the story of an ordinary man who could have anything his heart desired.**

**This is the tale of Benjamin Barker.**

* * *

"_Da, tell us a story?" five year old Rose asked her father one evening as she was being tucked into bed._

"_Please?" Rose's older brother of eight, Daniel, added._

_The man sighed tiredly, but nodded, smiling as his children exclaimed with glee, and sat next to his daughter. As he pulled the blankets up around her, hiding her from the London winter night, he asked "What do you want it to be about? Pirates and krakens? Knights and dragons?"_

_Daniel and Rose both shook their heads. _

"_Can we have a new story?" Rose asked, her brown eyes pleading._

"_A true story- one with a hero" added Daniel_

"_And a barber" Rose added, smiling at her father._

"_And monsters!" Daniel said excitedly, sitting up. _

"_And love!" Rose giggled._

_The man stared at his children._

"_Did your mother put you up to this?"_

_Both shook their heads, and he sighed again, this time in resignation._

_With his heart pounding and his voice not as steady as it usually was, Sweeney Todd began his story._

"_This is the story of an ordinary man, who could have anything his heart desired. This is the tale of Benjamin Barker…"_

* * *

The daisies were in blossom when he first glimpsed her. Her hair was a waterfall of golden waves cascading down her back. Her laughter tinkled in the spring air, and he smiled at its -and her- beauty. He and his friends whispered to themselves as she passed with another girl with wild red-auburn curls, heading in the direction of the flower stall. Her eyes caught and held his; he felt a rush of adrenaline as his pals patted him on the back, as he stood and made his way across the market to her. He bent and picked a daisy from its basket as he approached where she stood, looking through the daffodils. He came to a stop in front of her, very aware of the many eyes of his mates -not to mention her and her friend- on him.

"For you" he said, suddenly shy.

"Thank you, Mr...?" She said quietly, accepting the flower.

""Benjamin Barker" He said, as his hand brushed hers. She smiled, and Benjamin felt his heart lift at the sight.

"Thank you, Mr Barker"

* * *

Her name was Lucy, and they were in love.

That was all he knew, all he cared about. It didn't matter she was too good for him, or that he was still learning his trade as a barber: he was getting better, and they would get by. Not four months had passed before he was looking for a ring.

It was a small ceremony, with only their immediate families, a handful of friends and themselves. Benjamin didn't think that Lucy could possibly look more beautiful than when she walked towards him, proclaiming her love for him in a way that all could see. Braids which had white flowers intertwined throughout them were holding back the rest of her golden curls, and her eyes sparkled with joy. The white dress she was wearing paled next to her loveliness.

She was stunning.

She was _his…_

* * *

Nellie Lovett, Lucy's friend with the wild auburn hair, offered them the attic above her pie shop when her husband died. She said that it was lonely, and that she'd enjoy the amity the two would bring. They took it. Lucy soon found herself helping in her friends' pie shop below her home, and Benjamin had his own barber shop established just as quickly, the two drawing in a decent living. The quiet and polite ways of Benjamin and the kindly beauty of Lucy soon ensured that the Barkers were a well known and well liked couple on Fleet Street.

* * *

Benjamin yawned widely as he opened his eyes. The small, cheerful bedroom that branched off from his barber shop greeted him, sunlight streaming in the window. He rolled over in bed, and his gaze softened at the sight of his beautiful wife Lucy sleeping soundly next to him. The blankets were strewn back, covering a noticeable bump at her middle, her face nestled into her curled up fingers. A soft, golden wave of hair had fallen across her face, and moved slightly in time with her breath. He chuckled quietly, and reached over to gently tuck the curl behind his love's ear. Lucy stirred at his touch, opening her azure eyes slowly.

"Good morning" she whispered, smiling lazily.

"And to you." Ben replied, equally as quiet.

Neither wondered why they were whispering, simply just happy to stare at each other, memorizing the moment.

A flash of surprise crossed Lucy's face, and she murmured a small 'oh'.

"What is it? Are you alright?" Benjamin asked, propping himself up on his elbow, immediately concerned.

Lucy simply took his hand, and moved it to her stomach.

The two parents-to-be stayed still, neither wanting to break the fragile moment as they felt their baby moving for the first time.

* * *

Benjamin grinned with pride as his baby girl took her first steps, her wobbly legs barely holding her weight. "That's right darling… come to Daddy, Angel" he said, his voice quiet and steadying, an eager undertone clearly heard.

"Da" she cooed, falling into his arms after a few shaky steps.

"That's my girl" he said quietly, hugging his daughter to him, stroking her silken wheat blonde hair. He looked over his daughters' shoulder at his darling Lucy. She was beaming, her face positively radiating with joy. Their eyes met, and his heart leapt. He couldn't believe how happy he was…

* * *

_Sweeney Todd stopped, as he realised his children were all but asleep._

"_And the rest can wait for later" he said quietly, feeling slightly thankful they hadn't gotten too far into the tale tonight. He needed to prepare himself._

_He tucked Rose's wild black curls back from her face, before planting a soft kiss on her forehead. He stood and moved to Daniel, smoothing his auburn hair back and tucking him in._

"_Nigh' Da" Daniel murmured sleepily, rolling over as his father pulled the blankets up to his ears._

"_Goodnight, my little ones." Sweeney whispered, standing for a moment at the foot of their beds, gazing at them in quiet wonder._

_Nellie Todd leaned against the doorway silently, unnoticed, and wondered just what was going through her husbands' mind at that moment. She had always wanted to find out her Sweeney's point of view on those years, which they unconsciously seemed to have decided to ignore. It seemed that this bedtime story was the best way to do it. She stepped back from the doorframe and yawned noiselessly. She started for her bedroom, ready for a good nights sleep. After all- what good was a bedtime story without bed? _


	2. Losing Everything

**This is the story of an ordinary man who lost everything he had once held dear.**

**This is the tale of Benjamin Barker.**

* * *

_How was it, that after running from his past for so many years, he was suddenly retelling it to his children? (as a bedtime story, no less!)_

_Sweeney Todd shook his head as he herded Rose and Daniel to bed._

"_Can we have the rest of the story Da?" Rose asked, snuggling down under the covers, away from the slightly draft from the single window in the room. Snow was whirling around outside, the first of the season._

_Sweeney sighed, giving one half-hearted attempt at getting away from his past... "the story isn't... it gets... scary."_

"_But it's a good story Da!" said Rose, Daniel adding a begging "please"._

_Sweeney gave a slow nod, and sat beside his daughter once again._

_He didn't notice his wife standing in the doorway._

"_This is the story of an ordinary man, who lost everything he had once held dear. This is the tale of Benjamin Barker…"_

* * *

It was the first sunny day in weeks, and Benjamin decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to take Lucy and Johanna to market. He needed to get some barber supplies, and it would be the family's first time going to market all together. Ben and Lucy wandered the market, stopping and chatting with friends. Mrs. Lovett waved as she walked past, an armful of vegetables, no doubt to go into her pies. Benjamin spotted the flower stall where he and Lucy had first met, and parked the stroller near the fragrant blossoms. He picked a daisy, and with a smile to his wife, placed it behind his daughters' ear. Johanna giggled, and Ben felt a rush of love for his little girl.

He met Lucy's eyes again, and watched as they changed from loving to shocked and alarmed. A sharp pain suddenly started on his back, and again at the back of his head. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Lucy holding Johanna to her protectively, her previous smile frozen in shock on her face, her eyes wide with fright.

He woke in a cold, damp cell. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't hold his weight. The sharp sting told him he smelt salt, and the rolling floor and his stomach clenching painfully at the motion told him he was on a ship. Headed where, God only knew. He remembered the look of horror on Lucy's face, and his stomach rebelled some more. He felt tenderly at his head, and when he drew his hand away it was stained with blood. Tears welling in his eyes at the pain, he cradled his hands to his chest, where the pain seemed to be centred.

_Lucy…_

* * *

Hot.

Dry.

_Dead._

Australia was the hell he had heard of in horror stories, but never dared to imagine. The men being punished here had told him that they had heard stories of a Judge who sentenced a man not by his crime, but by how he looked and what he owned. That bastard of a judge, that _honourable_ man of the law.

_Judge Turpin._

Benjamin felt bile rise in his throat at the thought. He had been taken from his family, sentenced to a land of death for crimes he had never committed, and it was all because of _Judge Turpin_. All because one man had been so jealous of another's happiness, that he had to take it for himself.

He had stumbled and fallen so many times at the start, only to be whipped; forced back to his feet, back bleeding, feet blistered, body bruised and heart breaking, forced back to his penalty for living a happy life.

Only the thought of returning to his family, of being that happy once again kept him going.

* * *

He didn't fall anymore.

It had been years.

His heart had broken well and truly, and only the jaggered shards remained. The scars covering his body were a constant reminder of the sentence he continued to wrongly endure. He had hardened under the unforgiving Australian sun, become parched of any feeling but for anger, and pain…

Her face was fading from his memory.

_It had been years…_

* * *

He had taken his chance. They were being transported inland, to a newly dug mine.

When the horse lost its shoe on the uneven hillside, he had jumped from the cart. He stumbled down the dry hill, ripping his hands as he tried to gain some control, some sense of direction, before he hit the bottom of the slope and began running as fast as he could, always changing direction, half expecting the hot lead of a bullet to pierce his skin at any moment.

It didn't come.

He was long gone before the angry shouts of discovery split the afternoon.

* * *

Three days had passed.

He staggered back in the general direction they had come, the sun blaring down on him, his lips cracking and bleeding in the heat. He slept feverishly in the shelter of a scraggly bush near a long dried creek bed, wary of the animals that would come here only to be disappointed by the lack of water. He had heard of wolves who masqueraded as striking golden dogs, and giant lizards with teeth of a lion that could eat a man in a single bite. He rose with the sun, more drained than he had been when he stopped to rest the night before. Nightmares plagued his mind, even during the day.  
Finally, he began up a slope, the salt on the wind telling him that he was nearing the ocean. He came over the rise, and spread out below him was a tiny seaside village.

He began to make his way down, observing the small dinghy tied to the single dock with calculating ebony eyes.

* * *

_Idiot._

He should never have tried to row to Sydney. He should've taken a carriage, or walked. Unfamiliar with the ocean waters, he had been pulled out to the vast expanse of sea almost immediately. Now waves were crashing over him and the dinghy was groaning in pain at the thrashing it was receiving.

A light in the distance signalled his one hope of survival.

He pulled on the oars with all his strength, the light wavering in the storm.

As he neared, he opened his mouth to yell for help-

A wave swept over the boat, crushing it and its occupant.

Benjamin Barker was lost to the world.

* * *

He did not know the man in front of him.

The man had a white streak which travelled from his right temple back into his wild black mane. His eyes were dark ebony like his hair, and his skin was deathly pale, shadows lingering under his eyes. He showed no emotion at all, not on his face, not in his eyes, and he would hazard a guess that his voice wouldn't show much either, only a desperate sadness. Not the joy it once did.

'This man was a corpse' the weak voice of Benjamin thought.

He felt nothing at this realisation.

A knock came at the door, and Sweeney Todd pushed the fading Benjamin from him, turning from the mirror to greet the young man who had rescued him.

* * *

They were gone.

Lucy, dead. Johanna, adopted by the man who had destroyed her father's life.

Both had been stolen from him.

He stared at his reflection in the silver of his beloved razors.

They had stayed. They had waited.

_It had been years…_

_Their faces had faded…_

They would drip rubies.

He would make sure of it.

* * *

_Sweeney Todd stopped, and was glad that his children were sleeping. He didn't want questions, not tonight. He coughed, clearing his throat which had begun to feel raw. Standing, he gazed down at his children, glad that he had them.  
They, at least, had not been stolen. _

_He pulled the blankets up on both his children's beds, and left the room. _

_He didn't notice his wife standing in the shadows of the hallway. _

_And she didn't notice Rose and Daniel sharing a slightly baffled look as their father left the room._


End file.
